The last time the Augustana Vikings failed to win the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin women's track & field championship, George Bush, Sr. occupied the White House. Co-head coaches Fred Whiteside and Ron Standley led the Blue & Gold to its eighth straight conference championship this past spring and a number four ranking in the NCAA Division III National Power Rankings.

It was truly a dominating performance by the Vikings, starting with a victory in the Early Spring Opener on March 18. Wins in the Viking Olympics, the Augustana Invitational and the Midwest Championship were added along the way with the culmination of the season coming at the CCIW meet in Naperville, Illinois on May 5-6. During the course of the year, Augustana defeated six teams ranked in the top 20 in the power rankings.

The Vikings ended the year with 209.6 points in the power rankings. Wisconsin-LaCrosse led the way with 221.0, Carthage was second with 212.5 and Loras was third 210.1. They defeated Carthage by 15 points to win the CCIW meet and demolished Loras by 209 points to win the Midwest Championship meet.

Senior Maegan Harris (Springfield HS, Springfield, IL - now resides in Morris, IL) and junior Amy Calderone (Sherrard HS, Matherville, IL) both earned NCAA Division III All-American honors at the national meet that was held at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois on May 25-27. Harris finished seventh in the 800 with a time of 2:15.11 although she ran a personal best of 2:13.76 during the preliminary round. She was the eighth and final qualifier into the final, making by a mere thousandth of a second. Calderone placed eighth in the javelin with a toss of 127' 5".

Calderone also finished 13th in the heptathlon with a point total of 3,962. Junior Jennifer Walsh (Glenbard East HS, Glendale Heights, IL) finished 18th in her heat in the 1500 and failed to advance to the finals with her time of 4:58.21. Kim Baier (Oswego HS, Montgomery, IL) placed 15th in the pole vault with a clearance of 10'0". Tammie Beasley (Rockford East HS, Rockford, IL) was seventh in her flight in the triple jump with a leap of 36' 9 3/4" and did not advance to the final.

When it comes to winning CCIW titles, the Vikings have proven down through the years that they are usually at their best come championship time. This year was no exception as they jumped out to a 20-point lead (67.5 to 47) by the end of the first day and then held off a spirited charge by Carthage, the second ranked team in the country. Beasley got things off to a great start by winning the triple jump with a leap of 38' 3 1/4" while Baier was winning the pole vault with a clearance of 10'0" and Calderone the javelin with a toss of 136' 10".

Walsh and Harris traded one-two performances in the 800 and 1500 with Walsh winning the 1500 in 4:46.25 while Harris was second in 4:46.93. In the 800, Harris won with a time of 2:17.21 while Walsh was second in 2:19.03. Beasley came back from her big win in the triple jump to capture the long jump with a leap of 17' 10 3/4".